Friday Writings #214: Love, love, glorious love!

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Word Weavers, 

Tomorrow is of course Valentine’s Day. 

OK, so this is predictable and even corny – so what? Let’s do what poets are most renowned for, on this most appropriate of occasions, and write about love! 

Even Shakespeare did it, and if it was good enough for him… 

(Have a listen here to Paul Kelly singing Shakespeare):

 

 

 

Optional prompt: Write us a love poem, or a love story, or at least one about love. (I am subverting my own prompt today, for reasons which I trust will become clear as you read. That's another option for you, too.)

Guidelines: Poetry or prose, old or new, on prompt or not, 369 words maximum (excluding title and notes), one post per person and link to that post below. Please link to us here at your post, please read what the rest of us submit (not forgetting to check back for those who arrive at the end of the week) and leave us some encouraging comments, and you are of course welcome to make comments or ask questions here too.

Next week: We’ll invite you to find inspiration in the following Terry Pratchett quote: “There was a light at the end of the tunnel, and it was a flamethrower.”

Friday Writings #114: Keeping secrets

 

Hello again, dear Wordsmiths.

How many of you are keeping secrets? I guess we all have some, whether large or small.

Having published my memoir, which reveals one of mine, known to almost no-one even among my closest friends – it's disconcerting that not very many people, so far, have bought the book.

How ironic! What an anti-climax! My deepest secret, kept private for decades … and no-one wants to know. Couldn’t get it on the 7 o’clock news if I tried, not even if I paid them. Clearly, I need to learn the secrets of marketing in the digital age.

It made me wonder – what have other people experienced after divulging their secrets? Shock, fascination, horror, sympathy … indifference?

And what happens if we tell someone else’s secret? When is that gossip? Does it constitute betrayal? Is it sometimes a good, or even a necessity?

So your prompt this week is ‘telling secrets.’ If you don’t want to disclose an actual secret, perhaps you could address the topic in a more general way.

Or you might consider different kinds of personal secrets: ‘The secret recipe handed down from my grandmother.’ ‘The secret to growing healthy roses.’ ‘The secret of my success.’

Then, too, we've just had Valentine's Day. Nowadays Valentines are often signed, but traditionally it was the time for expressing a secret love. Part of the fun was trying to guess whom a Valentine was from. So you might like to write about a secret love, or create a poem which is in itself a Valentine.

And, need I add – your poems and stories can be fictional!

Guidelines:

You’re free to write to the prompt or to ignore it and give us something else.
We accept poetry or prose, new or old.

Word limit: 369 (excluding title and BRIEF notes).

Link ONE post per person on Mister Linky: the particular post, not your whole blog.

 Next week, the wise and wonderful Magaly will invite us to write poetry or prose inspired by the following quote: “Through discipline comes freedom.”

Writers' Pantry #57: Infinite Variety

 

Hello dear wordsmiths. Happy Valentine’s Day! 

I’m sure we may expect a few pieces on love and romance, on this of all days. 

However, this is Sunday, when our Writers’ Pantry is always a rich feast of varied offerings. Therefore we invite you to contribute any piece of your writing you wish, on any topic, in any form. It can be poetry or story, fiction or non-fiction, new or old.

Reminders: Link to your specific blog post using Mister Linky below; one link per person. Prose pieces to be a maximum of 369 words (excluding title). The link will stay open a week. Please make time to read a few others too and leave comments. We all grow and blossom with encouragement.

Advance notice: On Wednesday, our Magaly will invite us to scribble new prose or poetry inspired by one (or all 3) of the following lines (which are blackout poems, created by her): 1. Be an uncrushed flower. 2 . Burst into constellations of dance. 3. Love can be a monster, or not. Feel free to use the exact words, or not—the choice is always yours.

You are all my Valentines, always giving me such a lot to love. "[Time] cannot wither nor custom stale [thy] infinite variety."

Material shared here is presented for study and review. Poems, photos, and other writings and images remain the property of the copyright owners, usually the authors. (Older material may be out of copyright).

The rose photo is my own. © Rosemary Nissen-Wade 2020.

Wild Fridays #6: Words from Our Community

It’s Valentine’s Day!

So of course we must have love poems. Instead of looking for famous pieces (wonderful as they may be) I thought it was time to feature some treasures from our own community.

And who in our community writes the most romantic verses? That’s an easy answer! I’m sure we all agree that, in their very different ways, Robin (Old Egg) and Sanaa consistently do that.  And what a nice balance it is between the two of them, as not only are they poets of completely different styles and approaches, they are also opposites in both age and gender. Nevertheless, they have a genuine appreciation of each other’s writing (I can tell by the comments they leave on each other’s blogs) – as the rest of us do for both.

Each of them frequently lifts my heart with their latest romantic poems. And each is prolific – how could I choose only one poem from either?


Well, I didn’t, lol – I chose two: a short one and a longer piece from each. You may recall reading them before, but I think they repay a re-read.  Many thanks to Robin and Sanaa for giving me permission to use them.

Poems by Robin Kimber, from his blog Robin’s Nest












 I looked through Robin’s various verse tales – of love lost or love requited, of domestic bliss or teenage crushes, autobiographical or fictional or a mixture of the two – and settled on the following as being especially appropriate for Valentine’s Day because they are both so sweetly romantic, with equal parts of love and (gently suggested) passion. And they tell of happy love, which I think is the right mood for Valentine’s Day.

Here he writes of young love, idyllic and carefree:

My girl's eyes always light up 

When we go for a walk in the meadow

If the buttercups are in bloom, she smiles
Then she will lay down with them
They grin back at her
The bees buzz and fly away
While the Sun hides behind a cloud
They all know I will kiss her

She sighs, but I know that she is happy


Ahhh! I'm sighing too. And also in response to the next one, which tells of a young man whose ‘roving eye’ finally settles on The One, with that classic culmination which romantics dream of.

Rose Claire  

I rose up one morning
With my eyes full of glee
So thought I'd take a walk
To see what I could see

Do forgive me sweet girls
I have a roving eye
Sat in a rose garden
To see what I could spy

I took some old breadcrumbs
To feed the birds down there
And they came pretty soon
Plus girl with raven hair

Not long before we talked
Her name was Rose Claire
She loved that birds came close
Pecking crumbs without care

"Rose" I asked, she looked up
Her eyes shone beautifully
I rose up then kneeled down
"Please with you marry me?"

Her soft hand touched my cheek
Fingers close to my lips
I kissed them while I could
Those sensuous fingertips


Poems by Sanaa Rizvi, who blogs at A Dash of Sunny

 The two I've chosen by Sanaa were actually posted to her blog on past Valentine’s Days. She’s the lover of lush words and sensual metaphors, often in free verse.

Memoir (au fait)


I lie awake as night after night passes me

by, bathed in shadow of dreary moonlight.

Sweep not these streets of covet and pain,

fear not tales buried beneath. Tender, is

the ghost of lover long gone, leaving abaft
memories subtle as rose-colored smoke ―


That one, rejoicing in beautiful memories rather than present fulfilment, is a perfect poem for my personal Valentine’s Day. Although I don’t have a romantic partner now, I’m glad I can look back whenever I choose, in happy reminiscence, as the narrator of this poem does.

And here is one of the sensual pieces at which Sanaa excels, full of swoon-making, highly original imagery. It too comes to what I think is a perfect conclusion.

The Kisser’s Handbook
A tribute response to Joseph Legaspi’s poem, ‘The Kisser’s Handbook.’

Invigorating and intense is love.

A kiss that hints at butterscotch, caramel,

and tuberose fragrance.

I find I am unable to read your lips 

unless

they are caressing mine, 

as whisper, as promise, 

and a sigh followed by consummation.

A kiss is more personal 

more private than sharing a secret 

it’s a bond that blossoms between two people

a thought

muddled by cologne, macadamia nuts

and strawberries.

If rushed it’s probably awkward and first,

as emotions overwhelm and take charge
of the senses,

if delicate, a kiss is playful

almost teasing

as raindrops that pour and tickle flower buds 

and foliage.

A kiss dances in the corridors of memory,

makes one blush

as hours pass away as though they are nothing.

When lingering upon shy lower lip,

I am a cloud 

willing to embrace the setting sun

when urgent 

I seek to travel to collarbone, from decade

to decade

and from dusk till dawn.

Because I am the shore
that ocean longs to meet,

ours is a parable timeless,

a love song whose words are from the scripture.

A kiss

is a conversation you have when all else fails.



I hope you all enjoyed this touch of romance! Aren't we lucky to be able to enjoy the writings of these two romantic poets so often? And don't they always touch our hearts and lift our spirits?

I wish you lots of lovely love and/or happy memories on Valentine’s Day.


Material shared in this post is presented for study and review. Poems, photos, and other writings and images remain the property of the copyright owners, usually the authors. The photos of Robin and Sanaa are used with their permission, as are their poems. The picture of the hearts is a piece of free clip art.